Notorious B.I.G.’s posthumous “Duets” Touch and Go
The CD: “Duets: The Final Chapter” (Bad Boy Records)
PERFORMER: The Notorious B.I.G. (and company)
NOTE: “Parental Advisory” for explicit content
A complaint being heard about “Duets: The Final Chapter” is that the late-rapper Notorious B.I.G. wouldn’t have slapped the guest emcees featured on it with his rusty bling let alone recorded with them.
Well, B.I.G., or Christopher Wallace, was murdered in 1997 before many of the guests on this album were big (this is his second posthumous album). Who knows what would have happened? But judging by the quality of his past work, the B.I.G man might have hesitated to sign off on this misfired project anyway.
The album’s concept, if not fresh, shines with ambition. All the tracks are seeing daylight for the first time and Bad Boy Records brought in some of rap’s heavy hitters, who smack some out of the park. B.I.G.’s lazy-spoken narratives on sex, violence and desperation — recorded throughout his career — are as cool and catchy as ever.
The music, though, hits a wall. “Duets” starts out semi-well with “It Has Been Said” featuring Eminem, except that B.I.G. doesn’t even rap (duets?!). On the next song, “Spit Your Game,” the plane crashes into the mountain. B.I.G. and friends do the usual posturing to a cheap-sounding, syncopated organ with what sounds like Lil’ John in the background shouting for help from a locked bathroom. From there, the beats seesaw from Nintendo-cheap to Andrew Lloyd Webber-overblown.
When considering the thought and effort that clearly went into this album, the musical missteps seem mystifying. For instance, “Living the Life” boasts aural-cameos by Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, but takes it on the chin thanks to an obnoxious pseudo-’70s-funk jive. An overcooked operatic hook destroys B.I.G.’s duet with fellow dead guy Tupac Shakur on “Living in Pain.” (An odd duet since B.I.G. was rumored to be involved in Shakur’s 1996 murder. B.I.G. denied it.)
B.I.G.’s duet with Bob Marley on “Hold Ya Head” is a charming idea: he raps about being a criminal, waste-of-life curse to his mother, Jamaican-born Voletta Wallace, while Marley laments the pain of having a son shot dead. Sadly, the producer made little effort to hide the seams and it sounds like two separate songs playing at the same time — a.k.a. a big mess
Don’t fret, B.I.G. fans: songs such as “1970 Somethin’,” B.I.G.’s anthem about the beginning of his ill-fated life, and the hilarious and raunchy ballad “Nasty Girl” serve up some high points. If you love B.I.G and froth at any new record of his, you might enjoy “Duets.” Then again, you might sadly wonder how a hot idea came out so tepid.
Available at all local record stores.
– by Morgan Kelly
